BILL NUMBER: AJR 36	CHAPTERED  09/27/99

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER   139
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 27, 1999
	ADOPTED IN SENATE   SEPTEMBER 10, 1999
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 10, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 10, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Havice
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Honda, Alquist, Aroner, Bock,
Brewer, Calderon, Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Cox,
Cunneen, Dutra, Florez, Gallegos, Granlund, Hertzberg, Jackson,
Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Leach, Lempert, Longville, Lowenthal, Machado,
Maldonado, Mazzoni, Migden, Oller, Robert Pacheco, Rod Pacheco,
Papan, Pescetti, Reyes, Romero, Runner, Scott, Shelley, Soto,
Steinberg, Strom-Martin, Thomson, Torlakson, Villaraigosa, Vincent,
Washington, Wildman, and Zettel)

                        SEPTEMBER 3, 1999

   Assembly Joint Resolution No. 36--Relative to the Americans with
Disabilities Act.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 36, Havice.  Americans with Disabilities Act.
   This measure would memorialize the President and the Congress to
(1) stand firm in their resolve to uphold the current provisions of
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), (2) thwart any attempts to
weaken the act by enacting new legislation that nullifies the effect
of any court decision that weakens the ADA, (3) take appropriate
measures to encourage both public and private entities to implement
the provisions of the ADA, and (4) establish whether the ADA has been
applied in the manner in which it was intended, and whether any
unintended consequences have resulted.




   WHEREAS, The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into
law on July 26, 1990; and
   WHEREAS, The ADA, a comprehensive civil rights act for people with
disabilities, guarantees equal opportunity and access for disabled
Americans in public and private sector services and employment; and
   WHEREAS, More than 54 million Americans and 6.6 million
Californians have one or more physical or mental disabilities, and
this number is increasingly growing; and
   WHEREAS, Discrimination against individuals with disabilities
still exists in critical areas of employment, housing, public
accommodations, education, transportation, communication, recreation,
health services, and access to public services; and
   WHEREAS, Individuals with disabilities are a distinct minority who
continually experience restrictions and limitations in their daily
lives; and
   WHEREAS, Governments, businesses, and communities must strive to
become inclusive and free of physical and social barriers; and
   WHEREAS, The recent United States Court of Appeals, Eight Circuit,
decision in Alsbrook v. City of Maumelle (July 23, 1999) ruled that
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act is unconstitutional
and is not a proper exercise of Congress' power under the Fourteenth
Amendment to the United States Constitution; and
   WHEREAS, The rights of individuals as enumerated in the Americans
with Disabilities Act and other civil rights legislation are fragile
and must be watched over with great vigilance; and
   WHEREAS, The federal government must continue to demonstrate
leadership in the implementation and enforcement of the ADA at the
federal and state level; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California,
jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California memorializes
the President and Congress of the United States to do all of the
following:
   (1) Stand firm in their resolve to uphold the current provisions
of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
   (2) Thwart any attempts to weaken the act by enacting new
legislation that nullifies the effect of any court decision that
weakens the ADA.
   (3) Take appropriate measures to encourage both public and private
entities to implement the provisions of the ADA.
   (4) Establish whether the ADA has been applied in the manner in
which it was intended, and whether any unintended consequences have
resulted; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President of the United States and to all
members of Congress of the United States.
